Engine



w. B. HOPKINS 2,962,008

ENGINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 mm m 5 T n 2 m 3 M i m H 1 H. a H mu o m w 9+ \b m .3 9 o m m I NC FM. NW m H I 5 V. .fl W 3 mm uh um HFI(F%A% MN mm n 0 fil WWW wv H? E a I ,z JH\ 5: N n l H mm I. .3 f J 9 v .3 l 3 1| 8 .& mm k om mm 1 mi Nov. 29, 1960 Filed July 15, 1958 ENGINE William B. Hopkins, 510 Fairview Ave., Muscatine, Iowa Filed July 15, 1958, Ser. No. 748,694 3 Claims. (Cl. 123-45) This invention relates to an engine. I

The object of the invention is to provide an engine which is an improvement over the conventional four cycle engine.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simplified four cycle engine which does not use valves or cranks, so that there will be less likelihood of the parts getting out of order and whereby the speed of the engine can be varied or regulated as desired.

A still further object of theinvention is to provide an engine which operates very quietly and which uses the available energy with greater efiiciency, and whereby the principle of the present invention can be adapted or applied to engines of various sizes as Well as diesel engines, gas engines and the like.

A further object of the invention is to provide an engine which is extremely simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent during the course of the following description. I

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, and in which like numerals are used to designate like parts throughout the same:

Figure 1 is an elevational view illustrating the engine of the present invention.

Figure 2 is an elevational view similar to Figure 1, but with parts broken away and in section.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 33 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 1 and illustrating the cylinder only.

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Figure l and illustrating the cylinder only.

Figure 7 is a sectional view taken through the body member, and illustrating a modification.

Figure 8 is a view taken at right angles to the view shown in Figure 7, and illustrating the modification of Figure 7.

Figure 9 is a sectional view illustrating a modified body member.

Figure 10 is a sectional view taken on the line 1010 of Figure 9.

Figure 11 is a sectional. view illustrating the plug for the port of the piston.

Figure 12 is a schematic view illustratingthe operation of the engine of the present invention.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the numeral 10 designates a support member which has .a bracket 11 extending therefrom, Figure 2, and the bracket 11 is provided with a fiange 12 which may be secured to the support member 10 by suitable bolts or securing elements 14. Secured to the bracket'l l in any suitable manner is a hollow housing 15 which has ball-bearing races 16 mounted in its ends. -A sparking mechanism 17 is positioned in the housing 15, and a cam 18 is mounted i1 nited States Patent 0 on a driven shaft 19, the cam 18 serving to actuate the sparking mechanism 17. Secured to the outer end of the shaft 19 is a flywheel 20 which can be used to transmit power to any desired location or object.

Mounted on the support member 10 is a base 21, and rollers 22 are journaled on the base 21 by means of pins 23. A body member 24 heas a wavy or circuitous edge formation 25 for engagement with the rollers 22.

Formed integral with the shaft 19 or secured thereto is a hollow sleeve 26, and secured to an end of the sleeve 26 is a plate 27. Extending outwardly from a drive shaft 32 is a disc 28, and pins or bolts 29 extend from the disc 28 to the body member 24. The disc 28 is provided with a slot 30, and a finger 31 extends from the plate 27 through the slot 30. The plate 27 is provided with a circular opening or aperture 33 through which extends a shaft 32. V

There is further provided a bracket 34 which has a flange 35 that is secured to the support member 10 by suitable securing elements 36. A cylinder 37 is secured to the bracket 34 or formed integral therewith, and the cylinder 37 is provided with cooling fins 38, there being a combustion chamber 39 in the interior of the cylinder 37. A spark plug 40 extends from an end of the cylinder 37. A piston 41 is reciprocably and rotatably mounted in the cylinder 37, and the piston 41 is mounted on an end of the drive shaft 32. v

A first curved cap 42 may be secured to the outer surface of cylinder 37 by means of bolts 43, Figure 3.

A conduit 44 extends from the plate 42, and the conduit 44 communicates with a curved slot 45 in the wall of the cylinder 37. I

There is further provided a curved plate46 which may be secured to the cylinder 37 by bolts or screws 47, and a conduit 49 is connected to the plate 46 and communicates with a curved slot 48 in the cylinder wall.

The piston 41 is provided with an L-shaped passageway 50 which communicates with a port 51 in a plug 52, and the plug 52 may be mounted in an opening 53 in the piston, there being a coil spring 54 arranged in engagement with the plug 52, Figure 11. Rings 55 may be mounted on the piston 41 to insure a more perfect seal between the piston and cylinder.

Referring to Figures 9 and 10 of the drawings, there is shown a modified arrangement, wherein a body member 56 is secured to a stationary base 21 which is adapted to be secured to the support member 10 by suitable bolts or securing elements 63. The body member 56 is provided with an inner groove 57, and a shaft 58 has ribs or arms 59 which are provided with ball bearing assemblies 60 on their outer ends for engagement with the groove 57. The shaft 58 may be rectangular in cross section, Figure 10, and the shaft 58 may project into a sleeve 61 of square formation, the sleeve 61pxtending from an end of a driven shaft 62 which serves the same purpose as the previously described shaft 19.

From the foreging, it is apparent that there has be en provided an engine which is an improvement over a con: ventional four cycle engine such as an internal combustion engine. In use the cylinder 37 may be supplied with be ignited by means of the spark plug 40. Thus, the,

piston 41 will be caused to move outwardly from the cylinder 37 and this will cause reciprocationof the shaft 32. As the piston 41 moves in the cylinder 37, the port 5 1 in the plug 52 moves into and out .of registry with the pair of slots 45 and 48 and these slots areof such .a size and shape so that the combustible material ispermitted to flow into the combustion chamber-39, or else the exhaust products of combustion can selectively flow out through the slot 48 into the conduit 49 at the proper time. As the shaft 32 reciprocates, it moves the disc 28 and this moves the body member 24 so that the offset edges 25 of the body member 24 engages the rollers 22 whereby a twist or rotary motion is imparted to the shaft 32. As the shaft 32 rotates, the piston 41 and'disc 28 also rotate, and as the disc 28 rotates, the plate 27 rotates since the finger 31 projects into the slot 30. As the member 27 rotates, the sleeve 26 which is integral therewith will also rotate and this in turn will cause rotation of the shaft 19 and similarly there will be rotation of the flywheel 20 since the flywheel 20 is connected to the shaft 19. The cam 18 on the shaft 19 can be used to actuate the timing mechanism 17 which can be used for controlling the spark plug 40. A suitable belt may be arranged in engagement with the flywheel 20 whereby the work or energy produced can be used for driving a suitable mechanism.

Referring to Figure 7 of the drawings there is shown a modified mechanism for causing rotation of the parts as the piston reciprocates. Thus, in Figures 7 and 8 the numeral 64 designates securing elements which extend outwardly from the disc 28, to a collar 65, and the exterior surface of the roller 65 is provided with a circuitous groove or track 66, there being rollers 67 journaled on a base 68, and the rollers 67 are arranged in engagement with the circuitous groove 66. Thus, as the piston 41 is reciprocated, the shaft 32 will be reciprocated whereby the curved trackway 66 will cause the shaft 32 to be rotated and similarly the other parts will be rotated so that the piston 41 will have a combined rotary and reciprocatory movement whereby the port 51 will move into and out of engagement with the pair of slots 45 and 48. In Figure 8 there is shown a view at right angles to the view shown in Figure 7.

In Figures 9 and 10 there is shown a modified arrangement for imparting a rotary movement to the piston, and this modified arrangement includes the shaft 58 which has the arm 59 extending outwardly therefrom, and the ball bearing assemblies 60 on the ends of the arm 59 are adapted to travel in the circuitous groove 57 formed in the body member 56. Thus, as the shaft 58 is reciprocated, it will be given a rotary movement due to the stationary body member 56, and since the shaft 58 and sleeve 61 each have a square shape as shown in Figure 10, then the sleeve 61 will be rotated and similarly the shaft 62 will be rotated, the shaft 62 having a flywheel such as the flywheel 20 mounted thereon.

In Figure 2 the parts are in a position so that the next quarter turn will cause the piston 41 to move inward and this corresponds to either compression or exhaust cycle. Figure 3 illustrates the manifold method of connecting the conduits to the cylinder. Various methods can be used for causing the piston to reciprocate as it rotates. Thus, as shown in Figures 9 and 10 the body member 56 having the wavy groove 57 is stationary, while the bearings 60 are fastened to the piston assembly so that the bearings 60 reciprocate as they race about the stationary body member 56. This arrangement is especially useful for high speeds. Furthermore, an oil bath and spray, as well as water cooling or more eflicient air cooling can be used as well as other accessories, to better fit the engine to actual practice. Furthermore, several cylinders can be coupled together into a unit if desired. The arrangement shown in Figure 11 will ac commodate a high pressure, and will result in a tight seal. The diagrammatic showing of Figure 12 is based upon a counter clockwise rotation looking from the cylinder end towards the flywheel end.

The engine of the present invention is very simple and there is little chance for gas leakage. The engine of the present invention operates on the four stroke cycle principle with a minimum number of parts and in an efiicient manner. The piston rotates at the same speed 4 as the flywheel and the previously described mechanism causes the piston to carry out four strokes during a revolution. Thus, the piston rotates and reciprocates. The port 51 in the side of the piston communicates with the combustion chamber 39 for the purpose of obtaining inlet and exhaust ports. The port 51 traces out a distinct and separate path for each of the four strokes. The inlet and exhaust are effected by cutting out portions of the cylinder wall which correspond exactly with the path traced by the port 51. The rings 55 help insure a better seal between the piston and cylinder.

The present invention employs the standard four stroke cycle principle, that is the first stroke is the suction, the second is compression, the third is power, and the fourth is exhaust, as illustrated schematically in Figure 12. Four strokes of the piston 41 are completed for each revolution of the flywheel 20. Each revolution therefore is a power stroke. The body member such as the body member 24 causes the piston to reciprocate as the flywheel is turned and at the same time the piston is caused to revolve the same speed as the hywheel. This causes the port 51 to trace out a different path on the interior of the cylinder 37 for each of the four strokes. The opening and closing of the cylinder to draw in an explosive charge from the carburetor attached to the pipe 44 and to the exhaust is accomplished by cutting out of the cylinder wall the elongated slots 45 and 48 which coincide with the piston port 51 at the proper time. The compression and explosion strokes occur when the port of the piston is traveling over a closed off portion of the cylinder Wall. The bearings 22 communicate at all times with the double offset surfaces 25 of the body member and these hearings are firmly secured to the base 21 of the engine as shown in Figure 2. The port 51 communicates with the chamber 39 by means of the passageway 50, so as to permit entry of the explosive mixture when the port is passing over the elongated slot 45 and also in order to permit the ex haust period when the port 51 passes over the elongated slot 48. The slot 30 permits the forward and backward movement to occur over the finger or pin 31 and at the same time permits the pin 31 to revolve the piston assembly. The spark plug 40 is actuated by the points 17 and the plug may be fired just before the beginning of the third or power stroke. The exhaust slot 48 may be manifolded so that the exhaust gases will be carried through a pipe away from the engine.

Thus, there has been provided an engine which is a mechanical simplification over the conventional four cycle engine and wherein no valves are required and whereby no crank is required nor is there a half speed shaft or half speed gear, cams, tappets or the like required. The speed of the piston can be varied as desired, by changing the angle of the surfaces 25. The principle of the present invention can be applied to different types of engines. Suitable lubrication can be used wherever required.

I claim:

1. In an engine, a support member, a bracket extending from said support member and secured thereto, a housing secured to said bracket and having a sparking mechanism arranged therein, ball bearing races arranged in the ends of said housing, a driven shaft projecting into said housing, a flywheel mounted on said driven shaft, a cam on said driven shaft for actuating said sparking mechanism, a hollow sleeve extending from said shaft, a drive shaft projecting into said sleeve, a base secured to said support member, rollers secured to said base, a curved body member arranged in engagement with said rollers and surrounding said drive shaft, a plate secured to an end of said sleeve and having said drive shaft extedning therethrough, a disc mounted on said drive shaft and provided with a slot, a finger extending from said plate and projecting through said slot,

securing elements extending from said disc into said body member, a bracket extending from said support member, a cylinder secured to said bracket, a piston reciprocably and rotatably arranged in said cylinder and mounted on an end of said drive shaft, there being curved slots in said cylinder, there being a port in said piston mounted for movement into and out of registry with said slots, a spark plug mounted on an end of said cylinder, and conduit means connected to said slots.

2. The structure as defined in claim 1, and further including a spring pressed plug arranged in engagement with said port.

3. An engine comprising a support member, a bracket extending from said support member and secured thereto, a housing secured to said bracket, a driven shaft projecting into said housing, a flywheel mounted on said driven shaft, a hollow sleeve extending from said shaft, a drive shaft projecting into said sleeve, a base secured to said support member, rollers secured to said base, a curved body member arranged in engagement with said rollers and surrounding said drive shaft, a plate secured to an end of said sleeve and having said drive shaft extending therethrough, a disc mounted on said drive shaft and provided with a slot, a finger extending from said plate and projecting through said slot, securing elements extending from said disc into said body member, a bracket extending from said support member, a cylinder secured to said bracket, a piston reciprocably and rotatably arranged in said cylinder and mounted on an end of said drive shaft, there being curved slots in said cylinder, there being a port in said piston mounted for movement into and out of registry with said slots.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

